Artist Spotlight: Arianne King Comer
We are thrilled to announce that the extraordinary Arianne King Comer will join us as a featured artist during our Indigo in Bloom event!
Arianne is a visionary textile artist and cultural historian whose mastery of indigo and batik has made a lasting impact on the art world. With a career spanning decades, she has studied, taught, and exhibited globally, weaving stories of heritage, resilience, and creativity into her work. Her passion for indigo, rooted in the traditions of the African diaspora, continues to inspire artists, historians, and communities alike.
We are honored to welcome Arianne as a featured artist for Indigo in Bloom. This is a rare opportunity to witness her artistry firsthand and gain insight into the rich cultural legacy of indigo through her creative lens.
About Arianne King Comer
Arianne lives on Wadmalaw Island, SC, and holds a BFA from Howard University. In 1992, she received a UN/USIS grant to study under her mentor, Nike Davies Okundaye, in Oshogbo, Nigeria.
In 2002, Arianne traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, as a guest designer for MAVI Jeans alongside her daughter, Nicole King. From 2007 to 2008, she served as the Artist in Residence for North Charleston’s Cultural Affairs Office. In January 2007, she joined the Charleston Rhizome Collective at the World Social Forum in Kenya, where she conducted a batik/indigo workshop.
In 2008, Arianne became a Resident Artist for ARTS ACCESS of SC at The Production Center, North Charleston Naval Base. She was invited to the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, for a solo exhibition in February 2012. The following year, she presented another solo exhibition, Voices From the Water, at Clinton College in Rock Hill, SC.
From 2013 to 2014, she participated in the National Quilting Exhibition, ARTFIELD, Palmetto Hands Fine Craft, and the North Charleston Wearable Art Exhibitions. In September and October 2014, she exhibited at African Diaspora: Convergence and Reclamation at Waterfront Gallery in Charleston, SC.
In April 2015, Arianne collaborated with BAMN’N on ISMS, a consciousness-raising installation at the Avery Research Center in Charleston. That same year, she worked with the Civil War Museum in Washington, DC, on the Jubilee Celebration: 150-Year Anniversary of the Emancipation of Slavery. In September, she spearheaded the National Slave Dwelling Project Exhibition in North Charleston, SC.
In September 2016, Arianne completed a collection of wearable art for the debut of the Smithsonian African American Museum shop. From December 2016 to January 2017, her work was exhibited at North Charleston City Gallery and Penn Center on St. Helena Island, SC. Her artist residencies included Sanders Clyde School of Arts in Charleston, SC, and Lynden Sculpture Garden in Milwaukee, WI. In the summer of 2018, she was the Resident Exhibiting Artist at Lynden Sculpture Garden.
Arianne was a collaborative artist with the Gullah Society’s Anson Street Burial Grounds Project and the Charleston Rhizome Collective’s Tiny Business Initiative in 2019. In 2020, she created a line of wearable art for TuckerNY. She also served as an Artist in Residence at the Gibbs Museum in Charleston, SC, in winter 2022. That year, she established IBILE Artist Sanctuary, a nonprofit project on Wadmalaw Island, SC.
“When you know who you are
You are the mountain and the star
You are the tree that abides
In the garden once again
In Peace
In Love
In Harmony”
In June 2023, Arianne was the Artist in Residence with Indigo Art Alliance in Portland, Maine. Her work is included in the collections of Mindy Seltzer, Jonathan Green, Harold Rhodes, Norma Dotson, The Jasper, the Charleston and North Charleston Cultural Affairs Departments, Island Breeze of Mosquito Beach, The Jamestown Historic Foundation, Lynden Sculpture Garden Foundation, and many others.
Arianne has been featured in several documentaries and design segments on PBS, Home and Garden TV, Alternate ROOTS, and various local broadcasts and publications. Charleston Magazine’s "Giving Back" segment highlighted her work with Art Access of SC, where she provided “inclusion art” experiences for Charleston County Schools. She was also featured in The Smithsonian Magazine in 2021 and National Geographic Magazine in 2023 for her work with indigo in the lowcountry, SC.
Arianne continues to create textiles for ongoing projects that empower culture.
